Dayashankar Sweets

Open the shutters early in Sadar Bazar and you’ll see us getting things ready at Dayashankar Sweets. It’s been our spot for years. The floor is usually a bit sticky from the sugar syrup by noon, no matter how much we scrub it. We aren't trying to be some big fancy brand you see in the malls. It’s just a small shop with glass cases filled with whatever we made fresh that morning. Most of our regulars are the people who work in the other shops around the bazaar. They come in for a quick bite or to take something home for their kids. We use a lot of milk and sugar, and the stove stays hot pretty much all day. Sometimes the delivery truck is late and we have to scramble, but that’s just how it goes in a busy market. It’s noisy outside with the rickshaws and people shouting, but inside it smells like cardamom and fried dough. We don’t have a big staff, just a few of us who know the recipes by heart now. We don’t really change things much. People like the old way of doing things, and we’re used to it too. It’s a lot of standing on your feet and dealing with the heat from the big pans, but it’s our living. We just keep the trays full and wait for the evening rush to start as people head home.